Statistical analysis of production of protease and esterase by a newly isolated Lysinibacillus fusiformis AU01: purification and application of protease in sub-culturing cell lines

Degradation of Structurally Modified Polylactide under the Controlled Composting of Food Waste

The degradation of polylactide (PLA) films of different structures under conditions of controlled composting has been studied. We have demonstrated that PLA underwent degradation within one month in a substrate that simulated standard industrial composting. Regardless of the initial structure of the samples, the number-average molecular weight (Mn) decreased to 4 kDa while the degree of crystallinity increased to about 70% after 21 days of composting. Addition of an inoculant to the standard substrate resulted in the accelerated degradation of the PLA samples for one week due to an abiotic hydrolysis. These findings have confirmed that industrial composting could solve the problem of plastic disposal at least for PLA.

Influence of Symbiotic Probiont Strains on the Growth of Amphora and Chlorella and Its Potential Protections Against Vibrio spp. in Artemia

The emerging aquaculture industry is in need of non-antibiotic-based disease control approaches to minimize the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Bacterial infections mainly caused by Vibrio spp. have caused mass mortalities of fish especially during the larval stages. The objectives of this study were to verify the potential of symbiotic probiont strains, isolated from microalgae (Amphora, Chlorella, and Spirulina) for suppressing the growth of Vibrio spp. and at the same time ascertain their abilities to enhance microalgal biomass by mutualistic interactions through microalgae-bacteria symbiosis. In addition, in vivo studies on Artemia bioencapsulated with probiont strains (single strain and mix strains) and microalgae were evaluated. The selected potential probionts were identified as Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain A-1 (LFA-1), Bacillus sp. strain A-2 (BA-2), Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain Cl-3 (LFCl-3), and Bacillus pocheonensis strain S-2 (BPS-2) using 16s rRNA. The cell densities of Amphora culture supplemented with BA-2 and Chlorella culture supplemented with LFCl-3 were higher than those of the controls. Artemia bioencapsulated with mix strains (LFA-1 + BA-2 + LFCl-3 + BPS-2) and Amphora demonstrated the highest survival rate compared to the controls, after being challenged with V. harveyi (60 ± 4%) and V. parahaemolyticus (78 ± 2%). Our study postulated that BA-2 and LFCl-3 were found to be good promoting bacteria for microalgal growth and microalgae serve as a vector to transport probiotic into Artemia. Moreover, mixture of potential probionts is beneficial for Artemia supplementation in conferring protection to Artemia nauplii against pathogenic Vibrios.

Current Strategies in Assessment of Nanotoxicity: Alternatives to In Vivo Animal Testing

Millions of experimental animals are widely used in the assessment of toxicological or biological effects of manufactured nanomaterials in medical technology. However, the animal consciousness has increased and become an issue for debate in recent years. Currently, the principle of the 3Rs (i.e., reduction, refinement, and replacement) is applied to ensure the more ethical application of humane animal research. In order to avoid unethical procedures, the strategy of alternatives to animal testing has been employed to overcome the drawbacks of animal experiments. This article provides current alternative strategies to replace or reduce the use of experimental animals in the assessment of nanotoxicity. The currently available alternative methods include in vitro and in silico approaches, which can be used as cost-effective approaches to meet the principle of the 3Rs. These methods are regarded as non-animal approaches and have been implemented in many countries for scientific purposes. The in vitro experiments related to nanotoxicity assays involve cell culture testing and tissue engineering, while the in silico methods refer to prediction using molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling. The commonly used novel cell-based methods and computational approaches have the potential to help minimize the use of experimental animals for nanomaterial toxicity assessments.

A novel metalloprotease from banana peel and its biochemical characterization

Protein cleaving enzymes, called proteases are one of the most commercially used enzymes possessing extensive applications in various industries. The present study was focused on screening, extraction, purification and characterization of protease from banana peel. Twelve different varieties of banana peels were screened for the protease activity. The maximum activity of the isolated enzyme was 230.4 CDU/mg from Nendran banana. The crude enzyme was purified up to 8.1 fold with the yield of 61.34%. The molecular weight of the purified fraction was found to be 40 kDa. The optimum conditions for maximum protease activity were achieved at 30 °C and pH 7. The Lineweaver-Burk plot exhibited the kinetic parameters of the enzyme such as V_max and K_m as 588.4 CDU/mg and 15.2 mg/ml respectively. The influence of different inhibitors, metal ions, organic solvents, detergents, oxidising agents and salinity were examined. The collagenolytic activity was tested with purified type I collagen as a substrate. The enzyme was tested for cell cytotoxicity, detection of apoptosis using fluorescent dyes and antitumor activity. The results demonstrated that protease from banana peel was of high significance and potential for usage in therapeutic for breaking down collagen/peptide bonds.

Highly efficient deproteinization with an ammonifying bacteria Lysinibacillus fusiformis isolated from brewery spent diatomite

To explore a new method for bio-regeneration of high-protein brewery spent diatomite, an ammonifying bacteria (BSD1) was screened out from it and identified as Lysinibacillus fusiformis. The protein degradation characteristics of BSD1 was studied with rice protein as the sole nitrogen source. Maximum protein degradation activity was obtained when BSD1 was inoculated with an inoculum of 5% into a medium with glucose as carbon source and initial pH value of 7.0 and incubated at 30°C for 48 h. In this optimal condition, protein concentration decreased from 156.8 mg/L to 19.2 mg/L, and protein degradation efficiency of BSD1 reached 88%. Free amino acid analysis showed that the content of Phe, Tyr, Pro, Ala, Lys, Thr and His increased in protein degradation process. After degradation, NH₄⁺N concentration producing in medium supernatant reached 232.2 mg/L. These results indicated the strain BSD1 could transform proteins into free amino acids and eventually convert them to ammonium or ammonia. Furthermore, strain BSD1 could also be used for deproteinization of brewery spent diatomite and 51% of proteins in spent diatomite were degraded. After biological deproteinization the specific surface area and total pore volume of diatomite improved obviously. These results illustrated that the application of strain BSD1 for bio-regeneration of high-protein brewery spent diatomite was efficient and feasible.

Multi-Approach Analysis for the Identification of Proteases within Birch Pollen

Birch pollen allergy is highly prevalent, with up to 100 million reported cases worldwide. Proteases in such allergen sources have been suggested to contribute to primary sensitisation and exacerbation of allergic disorders. Until now the protease content of Betula verrucosa, a birch species endemic to the northern hemisphere has not been studied in detail. Hence, we aim to identify and characterise pollen and bacteria-derived proteases found within birch pollen. The pollen transcriptome was constructed via de novo transcriptome sequencing and analysis of the proteome was achieved via mass spectrometry; a cross-comparison of the two databases was then performed. A total of 42 individual proteases were identified at the proteomic level. Further clustering of proteases into their distinct catalytic classes revealed serine, cysteine, aspartic, threonine, and metallo-proteases. Further to this, protease activity of the pollen was quantified using a fluorescently-labelled casein substrate protease assay, as 0.61 ng/mg of pollen. A large number of bacterial strains were isolated from freshly collected birch pollen and zymographic gels with gelatinase and casein, enabled visualisation of proteolytic activity of the pollen and the collected bacterial strains. We report the successful discovery of pollen and bacteria-derived proteases of Betula verrucosa.

Kinetic characterization and fed-batch fermentation for maximal simultaneous production of esterase and protease from Lysinibacillus fusiformis AU01

The simultaneous production of intracellular esterase and extracellular protease from the strain Lysinibacillus fusiformis AU01 was studied in detail. The production was performed both under batch and fed-batch modes. The maximum yield of intracellular esterase and protease was obtained under full oxygen saturation at the beginning of the fermentation. The data were fitted to the Luedeking-Piret model and it was shown that the enzyme (both esterase and protease) production was growth associated. A decrease in intracellular esterase and increase in the extracellular esterase were observed during late stationary phase. The appearance of intracellular proteins in extracellular media and decrease in viable cell count and biomass during late stationary phase confirmed that the presence of extracellular esterase is due to cell lysis. Even though the fed-batch fermentation with different feeding strategies showed improved productivity, feeding yeast extract under DO-stat fermentation conditions showed highest intracellular esterase and protease production. Under DO-stat fed-batch cultivation, maximum intracellular esterase activity of 820 × 10³ U/L and extracellular protease activity of 172 × 10³ U/L were obtained at the 16th hr. Intracellular esterase and extracellular protease production were increased fivefold and fourfold, respectively, when compared to batch fermentation performed under shake flask conditions.